Lithium
by GOLDRAGON08
Summary: Lithium is a drug used to treat mania and bipolar disorders. It can also but used to end the pain. Sasuke will always love Naruto and would do whatever it takes to never lose him.
1. Chapter 1

Sasuke buried his face into the warm soft neck. His fingers gripped desperately into the coarse, blond hair and his hips snapped forward into the tight heat. He leaned forward pressing weight into the hand gripping the hair forcing the face of his lover into the pillow to muffle those sounds of pleasure. His free hand dug into the other's hip pulling him back roughly to meet each intense thrust. Oh, it was good. His body shook as he felt of the tightening within heralding the blissful onslaught of his impending orgasm. He released the hip and reached around grasping for the hardness bobbing beneath the other's thighs. He growled in response to the shivering of the body beneath him and the clenching of the quivering ass that hugged his rod. He pulled back on that hair bringing the head up to hear the scream ricochet off the walls and overpower his own deep groan. He bonelessly collapsed into the body beneath him, his own hips molding to the strong yet supple buttocks. They panted together in unison allowing this brief moment of togetherness. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the stillness is broken by a heart rending sob. Sasuke nuzzles his face into those sunshine strands kissing them reverently while his cries wracked his body. He wrapped his arms around the body holding on as tightly as he could. The other laid still allowing this moment of vulnerability as his very own eyes dripped tears of remorse. They had been mourning for a year yet the pain was still as fresh as the day it had happened. The blond wanted to turn and comfort his companion but Sasuke held him still, only shifting enough to spoon his lover from behind. The sobs quieted to soft hiccups yet still the raven didn't let the hair slip from his fingers.

"It's not your fault, Sasuke." The blond said consolingly. "It's time you've made your peace with it." He waited with baited breath for the raven to respond but wouldn't have been surprised to receive only silence. He couldn't help but feel disappointed when Sasuke moved away from him, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and sitting with his back to the other. The blond heard Sasuke shuffle around in his discarded pants fishing out his smokes and a lighter. Sasuke lit the cancer stick and savored a long, deep puff.

"I will never make peace with what happened. Plus it wasn't entirely my fault. If you hadn't fucked up things would have been different." He replied, his voice void and lifeless. The blond closed his eyes in pain at the truth of the statement. The death of their comrade was indeed his own fault. One moment of recklessness; one moment of weakness and a fellow shinobi was struck down. He watched as the trap was sprung and his friend was riddled with needles. He watched as his friend fell to his knees with a look of surprise before falling to the ground. He watched as his friend writhed in pain as the poison in those needles went straight to his heart and he watched that last agonized breath leave his cold body. He sat up on his side of the bed and felt very aware of his nakedness. He pulled the sheet up and around his shoulders ignoring the pungent smell of their sex. He didn't mind when he heard the door knob turn and a large furry white dog lumbered in slowly in a pace that seemed as melancholy as he felt. Akamaru totally ignored Sasuke and approached the blond before laying his large head on the sheet covered lap. The blond distractedly petted the dog until a soft whine cause him to meet the doe eyed gaze. He gave his furry friend a soft, sad smile.

"I will never forgive myself boy. And obviously the teme won't either." As soon as the sentence left his mouth a blow to the back of his head made his vision blur. Akamaru growled a bark of warning at the raven.

"Don't you ever call me that again. That was Naruto's name for me. You don't have the right, Kiba."

Akamaru's fur stood up on his back and he bared his fangs snarling at his master's attacker.

"Akamaru, don't. It's okay boy." Kiba reached up to pet his offended dog while reaching with his other hand to pet his own. He knew that was going to be sore for a while but he deserved it. Akamaru snorted at the raven dismissively and licked Kiba's face lovingly. He didn't understand why his human mated with the man. He didn't understand why the man didn't love his human as much as he did. All he knew was that he hated that man. He could smell evil all over him. When the one that smelled like Ramen and fox fur was still here things were different. Everything smelled as it should have been. The evil man was with the ramen fox, but he wasn't evil then. His own human was content with his life and Akamaru was doing all he could to make him happy. But then everything changed. One day his human came home covered in blood and tears. Whenever he mentioned the Ramen Foxes name he would cry. Nothing Akamaru did could console his human. Not even offering him his prized bone he buried in the yard. Everyone missed the "Naruto" as they called him, but his human reeked of guilt and despair beyond any other. Then the raven started slinking around. He would just pop up every once in a while at first. Then things began to deteriorate. They began getting intimate. The scent of his human reeked of the raven's and Akamaru hated it. Then Kiba changed his hair suddenly. One night Akamaru almost didn't recognize him and nearly attacked him. It was all a mess and everyone was miserable. Akamaru was forced from his musing when a lamp crashed next to him.

"Get that mutt out of here, you know I'm allergic." Sasuke ordered crossly. Kiba gave his companion a loving pet

"Go on boy. Get some sleep. I will play with you tomorrow, I promise." Kiba said with a yawn. The tone of his voice told Akamaru that he was lying but nonetheless he licked his masters hand and obediently sulked out after gifting the Uchiha with a heavy glare. Kiba waited until his pup left before burying his face into his hands. He felt those black eyes burning into his back and he felt the hatred toward himself that mirrored his own. They said that misery loved company and Kiba begged to differ. He felt the bed dip as Sasuke crawled toward him across the bed. Strong hands encircled him bringing him into a muscled chest. Sasuke shushed him softly bringing Kiba's face into his neck and petting his hair, the only thing about the dog boy that he liked.

"Shh… shh… it's okay. Everything is going to be okay. This is the way it has to be. It's the way Naruto would want it." He cooed. Kiba melted against the Uchiha as a sickening feeling sat heavy in his belly. He knew that was a lie. Naruto was a creature of hope and joy even when all odds were against him. He was one to never say die. Even though Kiba did all he could to placate the man he wronged in causing his lover's death, there was nothing to dull the pain; nothing but the promise of ending it. As Sasuke held him and pulled him to lay down beside him Kiba was able to smile. He thought about the empty pill bottle in the bathroom cabinet. He thought about how Naruto pushed him out of the way of those poisoned needles. But what gave him the most solace was how empty and alone Sasuke would feel when the raven woke the next morning and his artificial blond didn't.

"Shh… everything is going to be okay, Dobe." Sasuke whispered. Kiba had long since grown accustomed to being called as such. "We are together and no one will come between us." Kiba felt a loving kiss alight his forehead and allowed his eyes to drift shut. He forgot to take out those blue contacts again but tonight it wasn't gonna matter.


	2. Chapter 2

Well darkevee1030 begged for a second chapter so thank them for this second part. This will more than likely be the last of this story so I hope you guys like it. Thank you all for the reviews, they mean more to me than I can say without being sappy.

Dark eyes watched impassively as the white casket was lowed into the fresh dug grave. He fought down a sneer at the sound of Kiba's mother crying to his right. Real ninjas don't cry. With a shudder of pain she dropped a single red rose of love onto her her son's coffin. Kiba's father dropped another in white for purity of spirit, his own eyes haggard and red but dry. Sasuke reached into the hidden inner pocket of his black suit and without a hint of shame dropped a striped carnation. He glanced over to Ino whom he was certain would know exactly what it meant and was met with iced blue eyes full of pain and judgment. He flashed a subtle smirk just for her before turning and making his way through the crowd as he left. What a fucking waste. He calmly returned to his apartment having felt leisurely enough to take the scenic route. He dropped his keys into the basket by the door, toed off his shoes and placed them neatly side by side. He walked to the bedroom, disrobed, hung up his suit and showered all as if this was like every other day. He dressed in a comfortable pair of sweats and not bothering with a shirt, he sat down on his sofa and turned on the television. Shouldn't be long now. After two hours of reality tv a hard, police style knock shook his door.

"Wonder who that could be." He wondered sarcastically.

He walked to the door teacup in hand, unlocked the chain lock and pulled open the door.

"Well hello, Ino. To what do I owe this pleasure?" he pulled the cup up to his lips for a sip before it was slapped out of his grip.

"EVERYTHING YOU TOUCH TURNS TO SHIT!" she yelled just loud enough to show her anger but quietly enough to not alert the neighbors.

He turned and watched the tea drip down the wall for a moment before turning back to her impassively.

"That was rude. I'd just made that."

Ino's face twisted into a scowl and she clenched her fists at her sides. His impassive face, that calm serial killer voice, and the utter disrespect for a dead fellow shinobi and lover. It was too much. She vibrated with anger.

"A striped carnation. Rejection. Disappointment. You are a fucking monster. A disgrace to the human race.

"That's funny. Isn't that what the village used to say about Naruto? And I'm sure you threw that in his face once or twice." He said leaning against the door jamb making himself more comfortable. He glanced into her tense face watching her lips thin out in barely suppressed rage and crossed his arms over his bare chest with a smirk. He crossed his legs at the ankles showing just how casual and comfortable he was with the situation just to add fuel on her fire.

"It's amazing isn't it? How points of view can change so easily. One day he is a demon and an abomination and the next he is Jesus fucking Christ. When did he make the transition for you? Was if before or after he took the poisoned needles for your ex? Speaking of your ex, something I have always wanted to know but never asked. Did he leave you before he started bending over and taking my dick in guilt or was he still fucking you while we wer…"

His head snapped to the side as something cool and green whipped across the side of his face. Small beads of blood bubbled from the small cut on his cheek. He looked down at her hand and saw the carnation he had dropped on Kiba's casket clenched in her grip covered with a few specks of dirt. She threw the flower at his bare feet with disgust.

"I'd never let you sully their memory." She said with venom. "A carnation I leave at your door. It's fitting. Beautiful, flawless but poisonous."

Sasuke raised his hand and she took a step back sliding into a defensive position. He smirked in mocking as he reached up and touched his cheek and looked at his hand to access the damage.

"'Tis but a scratch." He said rolling the red liquid between his finger tips. He took a step forward and Ino responded with all the emotions she had bottled up since the Uchiha had ensnared Kiba in his poisonous snare. She swung out a punch catching the other side of his face and opening up his lip. He recoiled a bit in obvious surprise before recovering and giving her a swift upper cut to the gut. She buckled as her air left her in a gruff groan. She reacted quickly bringing her knee up into his jewels and was disgusted to find him hard. He folded over in pain but grabbed her ankle and flipped her to the floor. She scrambled in panic trying to pull away but he yanked her back and covered her body with his own. She opened her mouth to scream but a kunai was instantly pressed to her throat.

"**One sound…" he warned pressing down on her harder. He was much bigger, taller, heavier. In the close quarters of the hallway he'd had the advantage since her technique was more about long range attacks and her best bet at this point was to be smart and coopoerate. He looked her over critically.**

"**Hmm… yes you will give me what I need." He said more to himself than to her. He reached down toward his pants and she immediately thought the worse as he fished around below their waists and she began to squirm again with renewed vigor. He brought his arm back and slammed the blunt end of the kunai against her temple. Her vision went white for a moment and swam as a sudden wave of nausea hit her. She felt him moving against her, turning her head away and jerking her around. His breath hot and moist in her ear as he breathed in excitement. She thanked whatever God was listening that he had hit her before he began and she closed her eyes and waited until it was over. After long, grueling minutes, or an eternity, he pulled back from her sliding his kunai in his pocket and smirking in satisfaction. Ino groaned in pain, her heartbeat loud and overbearing in her head. She shut her eyes and blinked away tears as she pulled herself up looking him in the eye defiantly summoning as much dignity as she could muster. He was smiling. A joyous, insane, full tooth smile. She couldn't take the sight.**

"**There you are. I knew I would have you again, Dobe." Ino looked down in dismay at her golden strands scattered across the hall floor. She reached up and touched what was left and was horrified to feel that her now short hair spiked up without the added weight of length. Her shocked eyes widened as what he said finally hit her and she looked at him in a new light.**

**Sasuke shivered as those blue eyes which weren't quiet blue enough met his. For the briefest moment he was elated. But just like with Kiba after he had dyed his hair and donned the contacts, he was hit full force with crushing disappointment. Her eyes weren't blue enough, her hair wasn't blond enough, she was too curvaceous, too petite, her face was too thin, she was too short, not muscular enough. Hell, she was even worse than the mutt was.**

**She watched as the radiant smile slowly melted from his face and morphed into a frown. He shook his head at her and then stood up. Turning away he bent down at his apartment door before facing her again and throwing the striped carnation in her lap. He walked back into his apartment, shoulders slumped and softly closed the door. Not knowing what to do, Ino gathered as much of her shorn hair as she could and walked out of the apartment. Surprised glances followed her all the way home and she only had one thought in response…**

"**At least the crazy bastard didn't rape me."**

**1111111111111111111111111111**

**The next week found Sasuke at the cemetery. He took a long drag on his cigarette and looked down at Naruto's headstone. He was angry, he was sad, he was hopeless he was everything but then again he was also nothing. The dobe always did say he was fucked up. He stubbed out the cancer stick on the headstone in consternation and dropped the butt into the fresh flowers laid there and then immediately picked the butt back up and brushed off the ashes. He flicked the butt onto a neighboring grave he didn't' bother reading before stuffing his hands in his pockets and walking away. As he left he could see a few rows down a big white dog lying on a grave. It was out of his way but he didn't have anything better to do so he walked over and stared down at the unmoving form. He had heard that the mutt hadn't eaten since Kiba died and hadn't left his plot since his burial. A lone bowl of water sat near him and he didn't raise his head as Sasuke approached. The Uchiha nudged the bony body with his shoe. The dog whined softly and opened his eyes pitifully clearly too weak to move. Sasuke took out another cigarette and lit it as he looked at the dog curiously. **

"**Stupid dog." He said under his breath. Akamaru growled lowly but didn't move. Sasuke shrugged and walked away.**

**Akamaru felt a warm breeze ruff his fur and he couldn't understand. His master was dead. His master was dead and the world continued. Humans went about their daily lives. They ate, they drank, they mated but his master was dead. Kiba's face was the first he ever saw. He had been the runt of the litter oddly enough and was too weak to crawl to his mother's teet to nurse. Kiba picked him up and held him in his arms. His scent was the first one he could remember. He had bottle fed him every few hours, even waking up through the night. He was the first face he saw when his puppy eyes had opened the first time. Kiba had been his mother, his litter mate, his companion in battle, his master, his friend. As Akamaru laid on the cold grave he felt as if things had come full circle. He came into the world and was cradled by master and that will be how he would leave it. The sun had warmed the headstone and it felt as if he was in Kiba's embrace one last time. **

**His ears picked up the sound of foot steps and he caught HIS scent again. He'd thought that he would stay gone after leaving the first time. He had used his last bit of strength to open his eyes and see the one responsible for his masters death and sulked that he was too weak to glare. He didn't bother opening his eyes this time, he didn't even know if he had the strength to again.**

**Suddenly, his head was lifted. Someone grabbed his muzzle and forced his mouth open. Something was forced into his mouth and he was forcefully swallowing. Nourishment filled his mouth and poured down his throat in a gush and was in his belly before the idea of spitting up even occurred to him. A rush of nutrients seemed to flow through his legs and paws. He bucked like a netted dolphin and opened his eyes to see that damned Uchiha crouched before him funnel in one hand and liquid pet food in the other.**

"**Get up you mangy mutt!" he said standing. Akamaru growled again. His stomach felt strange having something in it and his mouth was no longer dry. He heard feet running toward them from behind.**

"**What the hell are you doing? Get away from him! Leave him alone!" he heard. He knew that voice. It was the girl that always smelled like flowers, but since he was surrounded by flowers here he couldn't get her scent. Sasuke looked up at her as she ran up but didn't speak. He looked from her to Akamaru. Feeling weak again the dog laid back down in confusion and misery trying to understand why the evil one was trying to save him. Sasuke dropped the food and funnel next to Akamaru's head with a sneer before stuffing his hands in his pockets and stalking off again. **

**Ino watching his retreating back for a moment before dropping to her knees and pulling Akamaru's head in her lap and petting him gently while whispered encouragement in his ears.**

"**I know it hurts, boy. I loved him too. But maybe no one loved him more than you, huh?" she said stroking a large white ear. No response. "Aka, I know that there is no one in this world who will ever replace him. And I know that it feels as if there is nothing else to live for. But there are people who still care." She said seeing Sasuke finally disappear around a corner in the distance, "Even those of us who you would never guess ever cared." The big white head stirred a little. "You always have a friend, boy." She said and was relieved to feel the tip of a moist tongue lick her hand. She grabbed the box of food and looked it over seeing that it was bought from a vet for sick animals and it seemed pricy. She poured a little into her palm and held it toward Akamaru's muzzle. He shifted his neck forward a little and licked at it daintily. Ino felt a tear glide down her cheek.**

**As Sasuke rounded the cemetery he could see Ino from behind with Akamaru laid in her lap. Her now spikey blond hair blowing in the wind. He had seen a scene similar to this after Naruto died. Kiba's brown locks in that similar style had been blowing in the breeze and from certain angles Sasuke was certain he was Naruto. But he wasn't. Sasuke now had a certain clarity to see that Ino wasn't either.  
>As she laid beneath him in that hallway he swore he had seen Naruto in her face. It was that damned long hair that threw him off and he was compelled against all logic to cut it off. He had seen it again in her glare at Kiba's internment and again before that outside his apartment when Kiba's body was rolled out on the gurney. He reached into his pocket for his cigarettes. He paused as he had one of the cancer sticks outside of the box as a memory hit him.<strong>

"**Teme, those things will kill you!" that gruff voice echoed from his memory.**

"**Hn." He tossed the box on the sidewalk and stepped on it as he went on his way.**

**He rounded a corner and glanced into a dress shop. There he saw a familiar head of ridiculous pink hair. He saw her profile through the window as she considered a pink dress she held in her hands and he couldn't help but think that pink wasn't a far cry from orange. In fact, green was just a bastardized variant of blue…**

**Ok guys this is the final chapter. I left it open a bit for interpretation. Thank you all for your reviews and encouragement. I will be working on my other story Catharsis: Reimagined from here on out and then MAYBE I will go back to my other stories and redo and edit them. Hope you all enjoyed ;-)**

**The End**


End file.
